ARTICLES ABOUT FOOTBALL BY DATE - PAGE 5

Michael Sam , the openly gay University of Missouri football player who was recently drafted into the NFL by the St. Louis Rams, will soon have his own documentary series on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. The still-untitled documentary special promises to spotlight the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year during his "historic journey as he prepares to enter the biggest professional sports league in America." Cameras will follow Sam as he works to earn his spot on the St. Louis Rams while dealing with the intense scrutiny from the media -- and from others in his personal and professional life -- that comes with being the first openly gay player in the NFL. "We are honored that Michael is trusting us with his private journey in this moment that has not only made history but will shape it forever," said Oprah Winfrey.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The brains of college football players may already display the effects of years of taking hits, according to a new brain imaging study. Players who had been diagnosed with concussions and those who had been playing for years had smaller hippocampuses - a brain structure critical to memory - compared to those who never played football or played for fewer years, researchers found. âBoys hear about the long-term effect on guys when theyâre retired from football, but this shows that 20-year-olds might be having some kind of effect,â said Patrick Bellgowan, the studyâs senior author from the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Hinsdale Central High School has a new football coach. He is Dan Hartman, 30, a teacher and football coach for the past three years at Evergreen Park High School. Hartman, who also will teach social studies at Hinsdale Central, was hired in a unanimous vote by the board Monday. Board member Ed Corcoran was not present at the meeting. Before working at Evergreen Park High School, Hartman worked at Crown Point High School where he was a teacher and defensive coordinator for the football team.

KINSHASA (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed after police fired tear gas in a crowded football stadium in Democratic Republic of Congo, provoking a stampede, according to a police source and a local official. Fans in Kinshasa grew angry on Sunday evening after their local team was defeated 1-0 by a team from the eastern town of Lubumbashi in a heated final, according to Emmanuel Akweti, local minister for the capital's inner city. "Four policemen were harassed by supporters.

By Julian Linden NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnny Manziel, College football's most charismatic and talked about player, is heading to Ohio after the Cleveland Browns traded up to snare the quarterback in the first round of the National Football League draft on Thursday. Known popularly as 'Johnny Football', Manziel was selected by the Browns as the 22nd overall choice after waiting almost three hours to hear his name called out. He may not have gone number one and he was not even the first quarterback picked on Thursday, but there was no more popular choice than the 21-year-old from Texas A&M University.

By Zachary Fagenson MIAMI (Reuters) - Retired English football captain David Beckham lobbied Miami lawmakers on Wednesday to approve his proposed 25,000-seat football stadium on the city's prized bayfront real estate. Beckham, wearing a tailored dark suit, went door-to-door in Miami-Dade lawmakersâ offices in downtown Miami throughout the morning and afternoon, meeting with commissioners and posing for pictures. Beckham's plan for a futuristic, waterfront stadium near the port of Miami to house a new Major League Soccer (MLS)

By Esteban Israel SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The World Cup is around the corner and millions of fans are putting down their iPads to collect and trade football stickers, a decades-old hobby that has defied the digital age. A children's game played mostly by adults, FIFA's Brazil World Cup sticker album is a cult phenomenon and multimillion-dollar business for the Panini Group, an Italian company that has been printing the cards since Mexico hosted...

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Serie A football clubs have signed a contract with Swiss-based agency Infront that guarantees them at least 6 billion euros (Â£4.95 billion) in income from television rights for the next six seasons, Infront said on Wednesday. Infront will now negotiate a deal with the television companies for the rights to broadcast matches, which are shared between clubs and make well over half of their annual income. In the next few days, Infront, which has held the contract since 2009, will set up packages of rights that will be sold through a tender process, it said in a statement.

In a career that spanned four decades, L.T. Bonner officiated athletic contests at every level, from youth through professional, in sports from football to wrestling. A 1999 Tribune article noted that he was one of only three officials in Illinois licensed by the Illinois High School Association to officiate in six sports. "He was a dedicated official who had a real love for the vocation," retired IHSA official Dave Gannaway said in an email. Mr. Bonner, 81, died of dementia Saturday, April 19, in Bronzeville Park Skilled Nursing and Living Center in Chicago, according to his daughter, Dr. Lauren Bonner.